Chapter 21

At that moment, Sister-in-law Wu from the kitchen came in carrying a food box. Startled to see a room full of people, she quickly bowed to Fang Han Xiao. “Young Master.”

Outside, the sky had darkened—it was nearly dinnertime.

Yuzan stepped forward to help Sister-in-law Wu carry the food box to the table, taking the opportunity to shoot Ying Yue a meaningful glance from where she sat nearby.

Ying Yue: “…Hmm?”

She and Yuzan actually had a tacit understanding, and she could tell Yuzan was hinting for her to invite Fang Han Xiao to stay for dinner. But—her gaze drifted away, feigning ignorance rather unconvincingly as she lowered her head to stare at the food box.

She was still feeling shy, and for some reason, Yuzan’s glance reminded her of Madam Hong’s earlier words about how to coax a man and such. This made her even more embarrassed, with a touch of awkwardness. Though she knew she ought to thank Fang Han Xiao properly for bringing back her maids, the words stuck in her throat.

Yuzan was both amused and exasperated by her feigned ignorance but wasn’t out of options. Since Ying Yue refused to speak up, she turned directly to Fang Han Xiao with a smile. “What a coincidence! If Young Master isn’t busy, why not stay for dinner?”

Fang Han Xiao silently calculated the time. The medicine needed another quarter-hour to finish decocting. He would have to attend to Old Master Fang first, serving him the medicine before he could eat. Since he was alone, it wasn’t worth making another trip to the kitchen for food, so he nodded.

Yuzan brightened, while Ying Yue’s face fell. She shot her maid a discreet glare, but now it was Yuzan’s turn to pretend not to notice. She lifted the lid of the food box and began setting out the dishes, with Shinan quickly stepping in to assist.

The six maids stood a few steps away, unsure of their standing. They wanted to help but, lacking instructions, didn’t dare move.

Fang Han Xiao pulled out a chair and sat down himself. Ying Yue scooted aside slightly, catching sight of the maids from the corner of her eye. Suddenly remembering them, she pushed aside her awkwardness and turned to Fang Han Xiao with a pleading look. “I don’t need this many people—it’s too much.”

Truthfully, she wasn’t as concerned about Liuxian or Lanxiang. What she really wanted to refuse were these additional six maids.

Six was too many?

Fang Han Xiao disagreed. Sending these six away wouldn’t be difficult, but then he’d have to find replacements—and he had no time to manage her maids.

He gave her a flat look, offering no response before turning his gaze away.

Ying Yue: “…”

First, she studied his face, but he neither nodded nor shook his head. Then she glanced at his hands, watching for a long moment, but his slender fingers remained still, showing no intention of writing anything. Finally, she realized—he was simply ignoring her.

Ying Yue was deeply disappointed but didn’t dare press further. Noticing she was still standing, Shinan pulled her chair back to urge her to sit, and she reluctantly complied.

Soon, the meal was laid out, and Fang Han Xiao began eating without ceremony.

He ate quickly. By the time Ying Yue had barely made a dent in her rice, he had already finished two bowls.

Setting down his carved silver wooden chopsticks, Fang Han Xiao paused. He didn’t pay much attention to Ying Yue—earlier, he had merely secured her two maids and arranged meals, ensuring her basic living conditions. Beyond that, he hadn’t bothered, not even concerning himself with her injuries.

But now, watching her struggle through her meal, he finally took proper notice.

With Old Master Fang waiting for his medicine, Fang Han Xiao didn’t have time to let her eat at her own pace. He reached over, nudged her rice bowl aside, and motioned for her to turn toward him.

Ying Yue was eating with intense concentration—she didn’t dare let her mind wander, as the slightest lapse could easily cause her to accidentally aggravate her injury. Suddenly, her bowl was taken away. Dazed, she turned her head with her chopsticks still raised, her mouth slightly open.

Fang Han Xiao wrote on the table: Open your mouth.

Ying Yue snapped out of her daze, blinked, but didn’t open her mouth. Instead, she warily pressed her lips together.

Why would he ask her to open her mouth while she was eating? It was too strange—and unseemly.

Fang Han Xiao was in a hurry and didn’t have time to explain. He reached out, pinched her soft, pink cheeks, and forced her mouth open.

Ying Yue: “…Huh?!”

She was stunned. No one had ever treated her like this before. Not only did her mouth hang open in a perfect circle, but her eyes also widened in shock, her entire expression frozen in disbelief.

Fang Han Xiao wasn’t satisfied. He pressed his fingers harder, forcing her to open her mouth wider.

Finally, Ying Yue came to her senses. Embarrassment burned through her, making her feel as if smoke might rise from the top of her head. She whimpered and struggled in his grip, trying to shrink back into her chair to escape him.

What nonsense.

Fang Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

He didn’t let go. With his other hand, he tried to write an explanation, but Ying Yue kept squirming, refusing to look at the table. It was Yuzan, standing nearby, who suddenly understood. She hurriedly said, “Mis—First Madam, the master wants to check your injury. Don’t move—let him see. If you still need medicine, we can call for Doctor Wang. We shouldn’t delay.”

Ying Yue froze mid-retreat.

Yesterday, she had managed to sneak a bowl of medicine amidst the chaos. But at the time, things were so hectic that Doctor Wang had only said she needed to rest and recover properly. He hadn’t explicitly stated whether she needed more medicine. If she did but didn’t take it, and carelessly tried to heal on her own, she might end up with a lisp—and that would be disastrous.

Haunted by the specter of a lisp, Ying Yue finally stopped moving.

But staying still wasn’t enough. Fang Han Xiao tapped a finger against her cheek, urging her to stick out her tongue.

Lisp, lisp, lisp—

Face burning, her long, dark lashes fluttering, Ying Yue desperately encouraged (or rather, frightened) herself. Finally, she stuck out a bit of her tongue, feeling utterly ridiculous.

She even began to resent herself—why couldn’t she have hit her head instead? Why did it have to be her tongue?!

The bite mark was on the left side of her tongue. The bleeding had stopped, but the wound remained stark—a vivid red gash surrounded by slightly swollen, slightly ulcerated flesh. Since it was inside her mouth, constantly bathed in saliva, it didn’t look dirty—just pitiful.

Once Fang Han Xiao had seen enough, he finally released her.

Ying Yue jerked back, immediately covering her mouth with both hands.

Fang Han Xiao didn’t do anything else. He stood and walked out.

Yuzan suddenly remembered something and hurried to stop him. “Master, please wait!”

She turned and rushed to retrieve the red envelope stored in the empty rosewood standing cabinet, presenting it to Fang Han Xiao with both hands. “This gift is far too generous. First Madam fears it would be improper to accept it and wishes to entrust it to you. Also, may I ask where First Madam’s dowry has been placed? All her clothes and personal belongings are inside, and without them here in the bridal chamber, it’s quite inconvenient.”

Fang Han Xiao frowned and glanced around the room—Madam Hong had even gone so far as to assign him a Bedchamber Servant. He had assumed that after an entire day, the dowry would have been delivered to the bridal chamber. Yet, it seemed it hadn’t.

This wasn’t surprising at all. Since he didn’t spare Ying Yue a second thought, how could Madam Hong genuinely consider her interests? Their actions were merely driven by their own gains.

He glanced at Ying Yue. She sat with her back to him, her petite frame mostly hidden behind the chair. The old wedding gown she wore was indeed the same one from yesterday—now that he thought about it, he remembered clearly. There should still be stains of dirt and blood on the front.

She had made do with this dress for an entire day, not daring to mention her dowry even though she had one. Only when pushed to the brink did she seize the chance to bring it up under the pretext of returning his red envelope.

This Miss Xu had entered his household in such a manner, and he felt he hadn’t treated her unfairly. But in truth, she was simply too naive to voice her hardships.

Fang Han Xiao slowly walked back to Ying Yue’s side and wrote with his finger: *Everything yesterday was handled by Second Aunt. Your dowry should still be with her. Send those six maids to retrieve it for you. If they fail, they need not return.*

At first, Ying Yue followed his finger movements with the corner of her eye, but as she read on, her eyes brightened—why hadn’t she thought of such a brilliant idea?!

She straightened up and relayed the message word by word to Yuzan, who listened intently before breaking into a delighted smile. Turning around, Yuzan crisply announced the order to the six maids who had been standing idly on the other side of the room.

The six maids: “…”

They felt utterly unlucky, but disobedience wasn’t an option. Since they were assigned to serve in the bridal chamber, refusing their first task would be inexcusable even to themselves.

Like a dark cloud hanging over them, they dragged their feet as they shuffled out.

Fang Han Xiao followed them.

Yuzan, still holding the red envelope, hurried after him. As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Fang Han Xiao waved her off without turning and left.

Clearly, he didn’t want it. Yuzan hesitated, unsure whether to pursue him further.

“First Madam, what should we do if the young master refuses to accept it?”

Ying Yue’s scalp prickled. It was one thing for Yuzan to address her like this in front of outsiders, but now she was using the title in private too. It felt incredibly awkward, but after nearly suffering for it earlier, she had no choice but to force herself to get used to it.

As for the red envelope, she wasn’t sure what to do either. If Fang Han Xiao didn’t want it, she couldn’t exactly chase him down and shove it into his hands. “Just… leave it for now,” she said.

As she spoke, she raised her hand to rub her cheek again—Fang Han Xiao had pinched her quite firmly earlier, and the soreness lingered.

Shinan noticed and asked with concern, “Does it hurt?”

Not really. Ying Yue shook her head. With everyone else gone, she glanced at the swaying curtain before turning back to Shinan with a troubled expression. “D-did I jusht look like a dog earlier?”

Shinan burst out laughing. “What nonsense is the young lady saying?!”

She was so amused she forgot to address her properly.

Outside the curtain, Fang Han Xiao, who had one foot over the threshold but hadn’t actually left: “…”

In all his life, this was the first time he’d heard a young lady describe herself like that.

Ying Yue’s sweet, guileless voice drifted through the curtain. “I really think so. Ugh, so dumb.”

The corner of Fang Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Recalling how she had looked in his grip—yes, there was a hint of foolishness. But it wasn’t just that.

He stepped over the threshold and hurried off.  

Ying Yue, unaware of the situation, continued eating her meal at a leisurely pace after speaking. By the time she had nearly finished, Doctor Wang arrived from Tranquil Virtue Courtyard.  

He examined Ying Yue once more. She had no psychological barriers when facing the doctor and obediently opened her mouth wide for him to inspect. After checking, Doctor Wang suggested she take two more doses of medicine. She nodded eagerly in agreement. Since Fang Han Xiao had already instructed him, Doctor Wang knew she had nothing prepared here and didn’t bother writing a prescription. Instead, he returned to Tranquil Virtue Courtyard, had a servant brew the medicine, and only then sent it over.  

While Ying Yue was drinking the medicine, one of the maids who had gone to Madam Hong to request the dowry returned with her message: “It’s too late today—the dowry will be returned first thing tomorrow morning.”